


all i need, darling, is a life in your shape

by leviosuga



Category: Promare (2019)
Genre: Hurt/Comfort, M/M, PTA moms are mean, and also terrible at socializing, i also have no idea how pta actually works lol, lio centered, lio is insecure, no beta we die like men, there might be some writing mistakes i am SORRYYY, they are so in love it's sickening, they're parents!
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-02-16
Updated: 2021-02-16
Packaged: 2021-03-17 22:14:58
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,563
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29479035
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/leviosuga/pseuds/leviosuga
Summary: “There’s another PTA meeting next Monday.” He had said, avoiding Lio’s stare like the plague.“Okay? I thought you liked going.” Lio took a sip of his tea. He didn’t understand what Galo liked about talking to a mass of moms for an hour, but he was in no position to judge considering his choice of companions were Gueira and Meis.“I do! But I’m gonna be busy the whole day, remember?” Galo took Lio’s moment of silence to pick up a donut from the breakfast table.Lio did in fact remember. Galo had agreed to take on more than his usual shift at the fire station, to cover for Aina’s day off. Lio would be quite the contrary. He had the whole afternoon off.He let out an incredibly long sigh.
Relationships: Lio Fotia/Galo Thymos
Comments: 4
Kudos: 38





	all i need, darling, is a life in your shape

**Author's Note:**

> dedicated to isaac ! if there are any typos just pretend i did it on purpose please

Out of all the difficulties that came with raising a child, Lio was dead set on the worst one being the socialization. Galo had read a mind-numbing amount of books on taking care of kids, and one of the most common pieces of advice was going out, letting the kid ‘discover the world’, and ‘meet new people’. 

The pair had made an agreement to let Galo handle that one. The taller was an extrovert if Lio had ever seen one. Galo could befriend anyone, from the cashiers at the grocery store to the elderly neighbors, always knitting him an extra scarf when the weather got chillier. 

Galo was in his element when he’d be front and center at dinner parties, laughing and talking and leaving hours later with tens of new friends. 

Lio, on the other hand, was a bit of a mess. Despite leading most of the volunteer work in the neighborhood and helping people all year long, he couldn’t exactly be described as outgoing. Or even friendly, really. Or even known as anything other than the admirable, selfless figure in the community, taking charge of countless fundraisers, charity events, and volunteer work all around the area. 

Even then, the public speaking would be dealt with by Lio’s much friendlier and easygoing counterpart. He’d say it was a nice balance. 

He was particularly concerned when Galo had walked up to him one day, looking apologetic. 

“There’s another PTA meeting next Monday.” He had said, avoiding Lio’s stare like the plague.

“Okay? I thought you liked going.” Lio took a sip of his tea. He didn’t understand what Galo liked about talking to a mass of moms for an hour, but he was in no position to judge considering his choice of companions were Gueira and Meis. 

“I do! But I’m gonna be busy the whole day, remember?” Galo took Lio’s moment of silence to pick up a donut from the breakfast table.

Lio did in fact remember. Galo had agreed to take on more than his usual shift at the fire station, to cover for Aina’s day off. Lio would be quite the contrary. He had the whole afternoon off.

He let out an incredibly long sigh. Galo shoved the rest of the donut down his throat.

“You don’t, you don’t have to g-”

“Galo, finish eating. Of course I’ll go.” 

Galo’s cheeks flushed ever so slightly. He looked like a dumb, surprised puppy. “Really? You sure you don’t want me to say we can’t make it?” 

“Absolutely not. We told the adoption center we were going to put all the other parents to shame. We can’t miss a single one of these and let some other mom beat us.” Lio and Galo also differed in this. He was way too competitive. Far too much. 

Galo smiled fondly and before Lio could protest, he was already off his feet and in the beefy arms of his husband. 

“You’re the best! Let’s go wake Rin up.”

Lio could never stay stressed for too long when he was married to the fucking Sun. He was going to go to that meeting and handle it normally like a grown adult. Afterwards, he’d be free from social prison and would be able to be with Galo as a reward. 

Surely it couldn’t be that hard. 

-

Lio was mortified. 

He hadn’t even stepped into the school yet, but he looked entirely out of place with his motorcycle. Besides, compared to Galo’s outfits consisting of work pants and graphic tees, Lio was bound to stick out like a sore thumb with his loose silk blouse and leather pants. It was his favorite outfit. Galo told him to wear it to feel more comfortable. It wasn’t helping. 

He could feel the secretary peeking at him from the other side of the glass doors. She was sitting behind a bright blue front desk adorned with paper butterflies and lollipops. Lio was wearing a _blouse._ This was already a nightmare.

He took one last breath before pushing the handle open, startling the frail girl in the center of the room. 

“G-Good afternoon…? Welcome to Sunshine Elementary.”  She said, looking Lio up and down before she even had the chance to stop herself. 

“Hi. I’m here for the PTA meeting?” Lio tried his hardest to sound laid-back and it came off a little ridiculous. 

The background noise of kids yelling in the playground outside wasn’t any help to the conversation, either. 

The girl, very young and most likely an intern, blinked dumbfounded at him. “Right, but you’ve never been to any of the other ones? Are you s-”

Just then, Lio felt a pair of little arms hug his left leg. 

“Dad!” Rin exclaimed, smiling brightly. “You’re here!!”   
Lio completely forgot about the conversation to pick Rin up and give her a hug. “Hey. Having fun with your friends?”   
She nodded, dangling her feet around in the air. “Yeah!! Can you go play too?” Her eyes sparkled at the thought. 

Lio could see the secretary gawking from his peripheral vision.

“I can’t, princess. The meeting’s soon.”

Rin pouted. “Aw, but I wanted you to push me on the swing…”

He couldn’t help but giggle. The intern let a small gasp slip.

“I can go with you in an hour, okay? No need to get all pouty.”

She crossed her arms. “Finee…” Lio placed her back on the floor. 

They shared a quick goodbye before she hopped back outdoors, happy after having seen her dad.

“You’re, Rin’s father?” The secretary spoke up once again. 

Lio turned to face her. “Galo couldn’t make it.” 

Only then did she seem to realize what was going on. “Wait, you’re Lio! Right?” She softened up then, expression brightening into a smile. “Mr. Thymos says so many great things about you!”

Lio thanked the heavens that his hair hid the flushed tips of his ears when she said that. 

“Ah. That’s… That’s good then.”

It was silent for a moment, Lio not knowing what else to say. Luckily, the girl had a little more social knowledge than him.

“Right! The conference. It’s the first door to the left. It might not be open yet, but there’s some chairs for your wait. Other parents have already arrived.”

He turned his attention to the very crowded corridor next to them. 

Just talking to this girl had already been exhausting enough. Lio was convinced he was going to die before it was even time for the meeting to begin. 

He halfheartedly remembered Galo telling him he could call at any time for support. He then remembered he swore to himself he wasn’t going to bother Galo at his job over school moms. He had gone through quite a lot before. This certainly wouldn't be the death of him.

He thanked her and slowly made his way to where the other parents were standing, making sure to keep a healthy distance between them before leaning on the wall behind him.

He was still pretty far away from the rest, but he felt their eyes on him and it made him want to shrink up.

He ignored it fairly well, looking straight forward and focusing on keeping a scowl, to appear intimidating. 

It just felt a little… vulnerable. This was Galo’s environment. The people here knew Galo, but they didn’t know Lio. They could view him as anything they wanted and it would be seen as true, because there would be no other opinion to dispute it. 

If they decided to picture Lio as a threat, there would be no way he’d be able to prove them different. It was expected, too. Lio had always been seen as a threat, complete strangers always attempting to find the worst in him. This situation, with all of these people eyeing him like a science experiment, was no different.

It wasn’t too unbearable until the whispers began.

“I wonder where Galo is today.” One of the moms said. She was a short brunette, and the way she spoke of him so comfortably made Lio’s scowl deepen.

“Right?” Began another, in a floral dress. “Usually he’s here by now.”

And another. “I hope he isn’t busy doing all the work again.” This was met with dry chuckles from the rest of the conversation. 

“What work?” 

“Oh please.” Floral Dress’ voice was venomous. “Not like his… _partner_ seems to help. He’s always the one to come pick his kid up. Only one with a job too.”

No one protested. Lio felt like carving his skin out. 

He couldn’t tell if they knew it was him. They’d noticed he wasn’t usually there, and that Galo wasn’t around. Were they just always this careless?

“Exactly.” Brunette added. “Seems like dead weight. Only reason Galo thinks so highly of him is because he’s nice.”

The familiarity of those words on their tongues weren’t coincidental. They had definitely discussed this exact same thing. 

“‘Should just ditch him. He’d find someone better in an instant. Don’t get why he’s so loyal.”

Stop. Stop. _Stop._

“Poor kid too. When Galo’s not around she must feel so lonely.”

He curled his hands into fists. They kept going, but Lio couldn’t focus against the growing buzz in his head. He wished he hadn’t gone. Wished he hadn’t let his pride get the best of him again.

Normally, he’d stand up for himself. Normally, he’d yell at them until they’d learn to tread carefully. This wasn’t like him. He was hardly one to back down from an argument, he had grown up needing to defend what he believed in, anyway. Getting defensive was his default.

But, that was also what he had promised Galo he would work on. They had promised each other, during the hushed confessions and gentle kisses in the dawn of morning, that they’d work on being calmer. More grounded. Not just for each other, but for Rin as well. For everything they had built. 

Lio squeezed his eyes and loosened his hands. Lio was always busting his ass to make sure he was as present and helpful as possible. Lio would do anything for the two. Galo knew that, obviously.

That statement sounded wrong in his head. _Did_ he? Did Galo know? Lio wasn’t even convinced he deserved the husband he had, let alone do enough to keep him happy.

The deeply-rooted insecurities flooding his brain left a bitter taste in his mouth. He knew he was looking too intently to the floor for it to look normal, but he couldn’t care. If so many people thought Lio was that bad of a partner, then how could he think the opposite? 

Sometimes, when his heart was sinking and his past felt like too heavy of a burden to bear, Lio would consider vanishing. Leaving everything behind and walking the world again, having nothing to call his own. Galo and Rin certainly would move on, and did Lio really have any other choice? He seemed doomed to never get what he wanted. 

Before Lio got the chance to be fully consumed by his own pessimism, his phone ringing scared him into reality once again.

He fished it out of his pocket and answered the call.

“Hey.” He hadn’t noticed how dry his throat was until his voice sounded hoarse in the call. 

“...Hey babe. Everything alright over there?” Galo already sounded worried from the other end of the line. _Damn it._

“Yeah. Why wouldn’t it be?” Lio sounded entirely unconvincing, and he knew, but it didn’t hurt to try.

He could practically hear the gears turning in Galo’s head. “I’m _fine._ ”

Galo softly giggled. “Never said you weren’t.”

Lio was, for a lack of a better word, distraught. “Well if you called, you definitely thought I wasn’t.”

“Heh. Nope! Just wanted to say I love you!” Galo cheered, gaining groans from his colleagues, loud enough for Lio to hear them.

He laughed in shock. “You’re so…” Lio rubbed his temples, but couldn’t fight the smile growing on him. 

“I know, I know. See you later?”

Lio already missed him before the call was even done. “Yeah, see you.”

-

The ten minutes that took before the teacher actually arrived felt like agony. The topic of Lio had already died down, but that didn’t stop him from replaying what they had said over and over again. 

Worse, he knew that once they were all done greeting the teacher, he’d have to introduce himself. Inevitably, the mood would crumble the moment the parents found out they had called him useless to his face.

He anxiously watched as the three who were discussing him said hi and took their seats. It was just a simple classroom, but the bright hues and toys felt like they were closing in on him as Lio found the furthest chair possible and tried to make himself comfortable. 

“Alright!” The teacher, who’s name Lio had not paid attention to, began. “I think we’re all here, so let’s get started! But first,” Going through all the stages of grief, Lio watched as she turned to him. “You’re new. What’s your name?”

She was perfectly friendly, but Lio still wasn’t about to get any more open than he had to.

“Hi. My name is-”

The door, which had only been closed minutes before, bursts open. 

Lio was so relieved he could start crying.

Galo, in all his glory and still in his work clothes, was panting. 

_This idiot came running._

He didn’t even seem to notice he had interrupted something, bright eyes immediately searching for the violet ones in the group. 

“Lio!” He quickly made his way to the other end of the classroom, still oblivious to everyone else staring as he brought Lio into a bone-crushing hug.

Lio wasn’t one for PDA, but just this once, he sunk into Galo’s embrace, comfortable and familiar.

The other, knowing him all too well, made sure to give Lio’s hair the softest stroke. He was completely calm in an instant.

He could feel Galo’s breath tickling the back of his neck, and his hands on Lio’s waist were clammy and far too warm, but it was so, 

perfect. He never noticed how easy it is to miss Galo by his side until he was actually gone.

Lio would never leave him. No matter how hard he tried.

Unfortunately, the teacher cleared her throat. Lio wanted to launch her out the window. “Mr. Thymos! What a pleasure you could make it!” 

Galo let Lio go and he felt all too cold.

“Hey!” He turned to face the teacher. “I wasn’t supposed to come, but my boss let me off early!”

_Liar._ If there was one thing Lio knew about Ignis, it’s that he was strict. Galo most likely begged for forgiveness, and Ignis let him off the hook (The captain was quite fond of Lio, all things considered).

The teacher then turned to Lio, the smile on her face seeming genuine. “So you must be Lio!”

Behind the trio, a surprised gasp slipped out of one of the mothers’ lips. 

The teacher raised an eyebrow. “Is something the matter, Mrs. Ai?” 

Ah, so Brunette had a name. 

She fervently shook her head. “N-None at all! So nice to meet you!” The other women looked just as frazzled.

Lio stared at Mrs. Ai, taking his damn time before greeting her back. The way she squirmed and avoided looking at him was quite the emotional payback.

“Oh? But we already greeted each other in the corridor.” Lio said, ever so graciously. 

She was sweating. Floral Dress took over. “Yes, of course! But not formally like this!”

Lio chose not to answer, allowing the heavy silence to fill every corner of the room. It didn’t affect him much, but it surely left everyone else, besides Galo, uncomfortable.

“You all treated him nicely, right?” _Speaking of which,_ Lio thought as Galo pulled him to his side by the hip. “I’d be real upset if anything happened to him while I was gone.”

His tone, albeit friendly, had clear intentions, directly aimed at the moms in front of them. Lio could kiss him right there. Galo had always been over-protective. Lio wasn’t one to complain.

The poor teacher had no choice but to clear her throat again. “O...kay! Can we get started now?”

No one was opposed. 

-

Lio got home first (Galo had to run to the fire station once again, get his car, then pick Rin up. He was such a perfect idiot). 

He took the time to get changed, slipping into a sweater despite the warmer weather. It was (used to be) Galo’s, and it still had his warmth. 

Once the two arrived, two snow cones and a hot chocolate in hand, Lio was starting to think he was in paradise. 

Galo sat next to him on the couch, watching as Lio took the first sip from his drink, sighing in contentment. 

“So, are you going to tell me what happened?” Galo asked. As always, so caring. Sometimes Galo cared so much it made Lio feel brand new.

“Hm, not yet.” He took another sip, enjoying the time he had before Galo inevitably began asking for the truth. 

“ _Babe_ ,” Galo whined, but still lifting a hand to play with Lio’s hair. He hummed. “Come _on_ , how can I help if you won’t tell me?”

Lio placed his hot chocolate on the table and placed a feather-soft kiss on Galo’s lips before moving away. “You’ve helped plenty.”

Lio knew that wasn’t going to change a thing. He just felt like kissing him, frankly. The blush on his husband’s cheeks proved it to be worth it. 

Galo pouted for exactly a second before opening his mouth again. _So much for comfortable silence._ “Just tell me, you were clearly upset.”

Lio sighed, surrendering. “PTA moms are mean.” 

Galo kept quiet, urging Lio to keep going.

Another sip of his chocolate. “They were talking about me. They didn’t know I was ‘The Lio’.” 

The other stayed silent, not budging. 

“Said I-” Lio took a deep breath, and Galo’s hand slid down to fit his. “You do all the work. I’m dead weight.”

“Wait-”

“You could find better,”

“No, hold on-”

“and that Rin must feel lonely-”   
“Lio.” Galo’s shift in tone was enough to make Lio stop talking. The taller shifted his weight on the couch so he could face Lio fully. “You didn’t believe any of it, right?”

Lio wasn’t a liar, but he was far from being honest, so he chose silence. 

Galo kept trying to meet his gaze, but Lio was much more interested in the couch fabric.

“Lio,” Soft tone again. Delicate. Breaking Lio’s walls down. Softening him up. 

Damn Galo for knowing him so well. 

“God, fine. Maybe I was starting to agree with them a little by the time you called me.”

Lio was looking to the side because he thought Galo looked disappointed, but once a warm hand gently held his cheek and turned him to look into Galo’s eyes, he was proven wrong. 

Galo was, to put it lightly, looking at Lio as if he were the whole world, being held up only by the palm of his hand. 

“Lio,” At some point, they had begun whispering. “you’re amazing.”

Lio’s breath got caught in his chest. He had always thought Galo looked ethereal like this. Looking at his friends, looking at Rin. He had a stare, so heartfelt and intimate, that was reserved only to those he loved. Occasionally, he’d offer it to Lio, and it always felt like being set on fire. 

“Galo,” He leaned into the touch, covering Galo’s hand with his own. He swiftly tilted his head enough to plant a kiss on the inside of Galo’s hand, and by the time he turned to look at his lover again, he almost fell backwards. “Wait, are you _crying?_ ”

Galo sniffed, using his free hand to scrub some tears away. “No…”

Lio couldn’t help but giggle. “Love, calm down.” 

Galo threw himself at him, sinking his head into the crook of Lio’s neck. “I just love you so much.” He spoke through sniffs, the tips of his hair moving against Lio’s jaw. 

Lio used to worry over never being truly happy. He felt he didn’t deserve it, wasn’t built for it somehow.

The focus had now shifted to trying to calm Galo down as he blabbered on about how nice Lio was. Faint sounds of Rin could be heard from her room as she created stories for her teddy bears. Galo’s tears were hot on Lio’s skin.

Lio used to think happiness could only be found in the rush of spontaneity and fast pacing, running and running with no clear direction.

This scene, of Galo in his arms and a child they love just a couple of feet away, was one Lio knew well. One that he’d willingly come home to everyday. One that was common, and constant, and immutable. 

Galo was now peppering his collarbone with kisses, tickling him into a fit of laughter. 

And well, maybe a rush could be found anywhere you wanted it to be, and maybe happiness was entirely what you made of it. 

And his drink was cold, and Galo was always bursting at the seams, and his blouse was definitely crumpled by now, and he absolutely could not be happier. 

He smiled. “I love you too, Galo.”

**Author's Note:**

> i haven't written in monthsss and was not expecting for it to be like, a fully finished thing. never written parent fics either. or promare as a whole. and i have no knowledge of parent teacher associations. this was quite a mysterious writing experience to indulge in  
> you can find me on twitter ! @xukusn


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